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OBSERVING AIR
• Arch 403
• Fall 2020
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• Professor Pete Goche
• Bussard Award Winner
Maurice Merleau-Ponty defined phenomenology as the study of essences and placed great emphasis on the subjective experiences of individuals.
Our group’s interpretation of phenomenology extended this logic onto the viewers that inhabited our installation. Each viewer’s prior experiences helped dictate their perception of the installation. Because everyone’s perceptions would be different, we attempted to reveal a simple sensation that could be felt and understood universally. Whether the viewers had grown up and lived in the Midwest or not had no effect on the way we thought about the project. Regardless of their prior knowledge, the essence we attempted to show them, was that of the Iowan atmosphere.
Because of the latent effects of the air on the installation, we have elected not to disassemble it but let it continue to mature. Each of the 2,880 feet of trace paper, 3,520 feet of string, and 1,200 paper clips continue their decaying dance with the wind to this day.
Each of these ingredients sway in limbo with the ever present invisible force that defines their synchronous choreography, focusing the inhabitants attention on what it is that causes the movement rather than the materials themselves. The assembly manifests the unseen features of the context it is situated in, bringing the characteristics of the outside atmosphere down to a human scale that can be understood by its inhabitants.
While the divisions of Iowa’s landscape defined by politics and economy cloud one’s perceptions of it, our installation’s interaction with the wind helps reveal the truth of the context. That the air in Iowa’s atmosphere is all encompassing and affects everything it touches.
Winter 2021
Summer 2023
Experimental Drawing
Drawing was used throughout the project in a somewhat unorthodox method compared to other studios I’ve taken part in. Most days, it was used as a means of imagining, others for construction documentation, and sometimes for post rationalization.
Draft Dynamics
By controlling the openings of the seed drying bin, we were able to create various combinations of air flow through the space. Each combination would interact with and decay the installation in new ways.
